When I got married one of our wedding gifts was a book on Phrenology, a pseudo-science popular in the 1800's which suggested there was a relationship between a person's character and the morphology of the skull. Later I came across http://bellehelmets where illustrator Danielle Baskin transforms the dull bicycle helmet into a unique fashion accessory. I really like her designs but because I don't have a bicycle (just a minibike) and not very much disposable income, I attempted to make a Phrenology Helmet for myself using illustrations from Wikipedia.

After spray painting my helmet, I placed 1/4" black stripes to resemble personality sections. Wording for each location was penciled in and then filled in with a black Sharpie.

Phrenology images were enlarged/reduced to fit the sections, printed, roughly cut and taped into place. Once satisfied with the layout, I removed the illustrations and recopied them using a toner based copier (so the ink wouldn't run when wet).

In order to give the helmet a dark aged look, a few tablespoons of STRONG coffee was mixed with Elmers glue, painted over the helmet and allowed to dry The xerox'd illustrations were trimmed and attached using the same coffee/glue mixture. After allowing each layer to dry overnight, additional layers of coffee/glue mixture was applied. As the final step, the helmet was covered with several coats of waterproof sealer.

Even though my minibike helmet is not handpainted, I love the way it came out. Also, it will be nice to know which part of my brain has been damaged after I get into my first accident!